"I'm Free!"

As I was reading my daily news stops this morning, Towleroad's front page had the same picture of Mr. Humphries I used here a few days ago. It seems John Inman passed away this morning.
I've always thought of him as one of the first positive gay characters on television, pre-dating Ellen and Will & Grace by 25 years. Some folks have issues with his over the top camp, but to me it always seemed he was in on the joke, having a blast as Mr. Humphries.